Volume 1, Edition 1 of the Downtown Community Paper arrived in my mailbox in September. This monthly paper is devoted to keeping downtown residents like myself informed about what is new and trending. A simple article titled “Why would anyone want to live in the heart of Orlando?” reaffirmed all the reasons why I have been living and working downtown for this past year. I contacted the editor Michelle Rocheleau about contributing to the paper since I am documenting the arts scene and lifestyle downtown everyday already.
The paper held a launch party at the Orange County Regional History Center and I decided to sketch. The publisher Debbie Goetz and Michelle were pulled in all directions. Debbie already publishes a College Park Community Paper and when she met Michelle the idea of the Downtown Community Paper took form. The paper is founded on the principles that include bringing the community together and highlighting inspiring individuals who live in the area. The paper doesn’t plan to compete against the Sentinel or The Bunglaower to cover hard-hitting news. They instead are committed to only positive uplifting news.
At the launch party, singer, songwriter, Justin Kangrga, entertained the crowd performing covers on his acoustic guitar. Tom Petty died this week, and Justin performed one of his songs. It was a lively launch party where advertisers got to meet staff and enjoy a drink and hors d’oeuvres. The paper’s demographic isn’t the 20 somethings hitting the downtown bars each night, instead they focus on the older more established demographic that calls downtown home.
The paper will be delivered monthly to 8,000 homes in the area and is also available at Newsstands downtown. There is a digital version posted on the paper’s website.